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Zrax, the Hobgoblin Slaver
Zrax, a hobgoblin slaver who found his ignominious ending hiding in a crappy tunnel under the catacombs of Fallcrest, once lived a far more glorious life. Unfortunately some poor decision-making happened along the way. See below for Eagani's self-researched history of Zrax. Eagani's possible history of Zrax Please note the information contained in this article has yet to be verified by an independent source. Zrax (1360-current) ended his life as a hobgoblin slaver. But it was not always so, as those who knew him well would tell you. The Early Years Zrax was born to a single-mother bugbear in 1360 in the slums of Hobbearia. Zrax's mother, whose name is not known, had always wanted a better life for her son. Zrax was taught to be studious as well as fashionable by his mother from a young age, as these were the skills that she felt would help him rise up from the ghetto. Zrax found himself an outcast almost immediately, however, as his fellow ghetto-mates were mostly hobgoblins and they would tease him mercilessly in school. He was too young to understand the deep-seated envy that many hobgoblin families carried for their bugbear brethren that lived on the other--and far wealthier--side of the river. As Zrax was a bugbear, he faced much ridicule and thus developed a paradoxical envy of hobgoblins. Neither could he find acceptance amongst the few bugbear children he did come across. After all, their parents were aggressive in keeping them away from "the poor folk." Many a bugbear parent would admonish any accompanying child for so much as looking at Zrax. It was not a pleasant atmosphere to grow up in. Polymorphic Magicks The years on the streets taught Zrax to be an excellent fighter, however, and Zrax was soon causing plenty of trouble, left and right. He quickly joined a group of bandits, "the bane of adventurers." Their modus operandi was the ol' waylay-caravans-and-proceed-to-fight-off-any-guarding-adventurers bit. As Zrax was the big and burly fellow in the mix, he found himself the subject of many a magic spell. He could not count the number of times he had been dagger-clouded, or found himself prone on some icy terrain, or his eyes burning as he stared in a daze at the grotesque display of magical colors that some uppity wizard would cast. His ability to survive all these magical assaults led to his nickname, "magick's bane." Zrax met his match one day, however, when his group attempted to rob a powerful dragon. This did not go over well, and his friends all perished in the assault. Young Zrax, however, found himself in the path of a well-placed polymorph spell. He found himself to be the subject of his worst nightmares: a human male! Zrax ran for his life, and soon found himself lost. He realized that he would never be able to return to Hobbearia, but he soon found a home in the streets of Winterhaven. He was a loner, however, and he was a bugbear stuck in the body of a human. What other cruelties could fate toss him next? Best Friends Forever Zrax's luck may had been in a tailspin prior to his arrival in Winterhaven, but he had unknowingly arrived at a spot of good luck. You see, Zrax was a very handsome young man as a human, and the ladies most certainly appreciated him. Zrax was rather puzzled as to what to do with this newfound attractiveness, but he certainly felt no qualms at using it to find warm shelter, and he found himself enjoying his popularity despite the hideousness of human females in his eyes. Even more fortunate for Zrax, however, was his chance encounter with the village's sole hobgoblin, Krand. They became fast friends after Zrax admitted his bugbear heritage to Krand. Krand had never fully believed his story but found something of a kindred soul in this human who thought himself a bugbear, much as Krand was a hobgoblin who fancied himself an orc. Their friendship blossomed under the warm shade of the cherry trees in Fallcrest as the mischief between the two escalated. Shortly after the start of the Bloodspear War, Krand and Zrax swore to uphold their friendship in the face of the new conflict. Krand left town, and Zrax signed up to kill him some orcs! In the very first battle, however, Zrax was taken prisoner and taken to the ruins of Fallcrest. He was interrogated there and divining magic did indeed determine his beastman origin as well as the truth behind his nonconsentual polymorphication. He pleaded to be returned to the state that he had been before, "an ordinary citizen of the ghettos of Hobbearia." This was a statement prone to interpretation however, and as the wizard in charge of such things had not actually done the divinations, Zrax found himself now a hobgoblin instead of a bugbear! Zrax was more than elated, however. His desire to be a hobgoblin had finally come true. End of the war and joining the Crown-Key-Feather operation At the end of the war, Fallcrest was taken back in a fierce battle that would finally banish the Bloodspear Clan from the Nentir Vale. Zrax and a small contingency of hobgoblins went into hiding in the catacombs of Fallcrest, sneaking out only in the cover of the darkest night to scavenge for food. It would seem that the fortunes of Zrax had finally failed once again. Fate would never truly leave Zrax alone, however, and Zrax would come to meet a shady bartender named Kelson. Kelson wanted slaves, and he wanted some like-minded shady characters who had the skills for rounding them up. This job did not last long, however, as Kelson had come to realize it was much easier to capture drunk homeless people that would come to patronize his bar, the Lucky Gnome Taphouse. Zrax and his crew had gleaned one crucial piece of information from Kelson, however: the name of his employer. It seemed that the vice present of operations for the crown, key and feather slaving operations was noneother than his former best friend, Krand! He sent messages to his old friend and soon found himself the Regional District Slaving Transport Manager for the crown, key and feather. Kelson would have to come to him to sell slaves. Vindication was his! Zrax often fantasized about his eventual reunion with Krand, when he would reveal his new polymorphed shape - a hobgoblin! They would practically be brothers! Zrax was always waiting for the perfect opportunity to travel to Thunderspire Mountain, but would continue to put it off in the face of ever-increasing work and his own insecurities. Unfortunately, that chance would never come, as he was killed by our heroes. He may have survived many a manner of magic, but the sharp pointy blades would become a sticking point (har har). Category:Fallcrest